Police fatally shoot man who was holding handgun in Idaho field

STAR, Idaho (AP) — A man described as suicidal died after a police officer fired at him in Idaho, authorities said.

Police officers in the city of Star, northwest of Boise, were called around 5:30 p.m. Thursday by a person who said 41-year-old Christopher Huffman was threatening to harm himself and making suicidal statements, according to a news release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

Officers found Huffman in a field and began talking to him while he held a handgun and moved it around his head, the news release said.

Huffman refused repeated offers of help and refused to drop the gun for several minutes and then officers heard a gunshot and saw Huffman fall to the ground, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office said officers suspected Huffman was hurt and could see he was breathing. For about 10 minutes after that officers were telling him to toss the gun so they could help. Then Huffman grabbed the gun, sat up, began yelling and waving the gun around and that’s when initial information indicates that a police officer fired and Huffman again fell down, the news release said.

A short time later, Huffman sat up and raised his hands and officers got him into custody, the sheriff’s office said. Paramedics began treating him and took him to a hospital, where he died at about 8 p.m.

The coroner’s report said Huffman died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Garden City Police are leading a task force investigation. The officer, whose name hasn’t been released, has been put on standard administrative leave.